18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 119

You just couldn't pull the wool over his eyes.

Feeling embarrassed, Stella played dumb, "I think there's been a misunderstanding, I'm not trying to hide anything from you." "Do you want to know?"

"Know what?"

"My secret."

No, Stella didn't want to know. She still wanted to live, not be silenced or dissected.

Jasper kept on planting potatoes, "Stella, I trust in time."

What the hell was he implying?

Stella sensed that something was amiss and awkwardly said, "I'm sorry, I'm just naturally suspicious and replace it hard to open up to people."

Despite being given a second chance at life, her post-traumatic stress disorder hadn't disappeared. She was trying to control it, and it was much better than it was at the beginning.

Jasper repeated, "You're doing just fine. I would be the same."

Well, didn't he contradict himself there? Forget it, she'd just play dumb.

After planting potatoes, they headed to 1803 to cook.

They agreed to start cooking together on Christmas Eve, taking turns for lunch and dinner.

Stella's Christmas supplies weren't going to be enough for all three families, so they had to pool resources. She provided 5 pounds of frozen potatoes, a fish, and considering her dog was a big eater, she added some grains and pasta. Jasper contributed a bag of frozen pears, 10 salted eggs, and two pounds of pork belly.

Room 1803 provided the heat source, gas, rice and oil, and some drinks.

Christmas Eve dinner was the most important meal of the year.

Jasper took the helm in the kitchen, with Stella giving pointers. Soon, delicious smells wafted from the kitchen.

Lukas was out on the balcony, his keen sense of smell picking up the scent of other families' dinners. Hmm, their food couldn't compare to what was cooking on the 18th floor.

But in the midst of a catastrophic winter, being able to celebrate Christmas was already a blessing.

The government was particularly generous, providing an extra pound of relief food per person to ensure everyone could celebrate Christmas properly.

Despite the small amount allocated to each survivor, the total amount of food distributed was staggering due to the large number of survivors in Griffith.

There were dishes of shredded pork, beef stew, fish soup, pork soup with radishes, and a big pot of pasta.

Without fireworks, Christmas still needed some form of rituals. Lukas brought out a party popper, opened the front door and set it off. The colorful confetti fluttered down, marking the start of the Christmas Eve dinner. With two people stirring up the atmosphere, the dinner was lively.

Stella was celebrating Christmas with such a warm atmosphere for the first time. She didn't know what the future held, but she felt a sense of warmth.

Cody said, "Cheers, Jasper, your cooking skills are getting better and better."

Lukas laughed, "Of course, who do you think take care of him?"

What did he mean by 'take care of'? Stella frowned, these two must be itching for a fight.

Jasper was calm, "Yes, Stella was pretty good."

Stella turned to Cody and Lukas, her eyes twinkling with mischief, "Let's eat."

Whenever she had that signature smile, the two of them were sure to get a beating, and their hearts skipped a beat, "Let's eat before it gets cold."

The room was warm and everyone ate heartily.

After dinner, Cody took care of the dishes. Lukas and Angela boiled some lemon tea and set out some snacks.

Stella thought it was too quiet, so she asked her dog to bring the iPad. She had downloaded a lot of movies, TV shows, and variety shows from various video websites before the disaster, all to kill time.

Stella sat on the sofa, slowly munching on snacks. Cooper squeezed in next to her, resting his head on her leg, his bright eyes staring at her. Stella had no choice but to feed him.

Not satisfied with the small chips, Cooper used his eyes to signal her: 'Come on, give me something bigger!'

So, Stella started shelling peanuts for him. She didn't shell many, not wanting to spoil him. She would give him more when they got home.

Indeed, she was worried about bankrupting 1803. She deliberately controlled Cooper's food intake during dinner.

The show lasted four hours. By the time it was over, it was already late at night. She went home, showered, put on her comfortable thermal clothes, and got into bed.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, her walkie-talkie rang, "Are you asleep?"

"No, I was just about to."

They just left 1803 together, could something have happened?

There was a pause on the other end of the walkie-talkie, "Stella, Merry Christmas."

Stella looked at her watch and saw that it was just past midnight.

"Thanks, Merry Christmas to you and Rosie too. I hope you two have a great year ahead."

"You too, may you and Cooper be happy and joyful."

"Woof!"

Cooper, who had dragged his bed into the room, suddenly barked at the walkie-talkie: Sleep, no talking.

Stella came back to her senses, "Cooper is urging me to sleep. Good night."

After she turned off the walkie-talkie, Cooper took it out of the room and threw it into the living room. 'Sleep, no staying up late.'

Stella chuckled, who was the real boss here? The dog was so used to bossing around the rabbits that he even dared to boss her around. Was she being bossed around by a dog?

'Lights out, sleep!'

Christmas Day breakfast was just as important as the dinner, but in the freezing cold, who would want to get up early?

She stayed in bed until around ten, then got up feeling cold again. She measured the temperature on the balcony and it was minus fifty degrees.

The cold air rushed into her lungs, scaring Stella into quickly putting on her thermal mask. She went to Arcadia to wash, applied her skin care products, and then came out.

For lunch, Jasper was again in charge of the cooking, with Stella giving pointers. His cooking skills had significantly improved, much better than 1803's.

Rosie, in her new clothes and hat, ran happily into the kitchen, "Jasper, your food smells delicious."

Stella couldn't help but laugh. This little girl was really something. She had finally stopped complaining about her brother's cooking and was now praising it.

Jasper took the opportunity to teach his little sister a lesson, "Rosie, if you think brother's food is delicious, who should you thank?"

Without hesitation, Rosie hugged Stella, "Thank you, Stella. You taught my brother how to cook."

Then, she took out a piece of candy from her pocket, stood on her tiptoes, and tried to put it in Stella's mouth, "Stella, you eat this." "Thank you, Rosie."

Cooper got one as well, and even earned an extra one in his stylish blazer.

After lunch, Cody and Lukas was bored and suggested a game of Poker.

Lukas and Angela teamed up, while Rosie sat next to Stella with her brother. The sly dog was continually peeking at the other two teams' hands, and then reporting back to its owner with soft whines. If only it could talk, then Stella would have to surrender her place to Cooper.